Tumby Bay, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Tumby Bay is a coastal town on the eastern Eyre Peninsula of South Australia, on a sheltered bay of Spencer Gulf about 45 kilometres north of Port Lincoln. The Barngarla people are acknowledged as the traditional custodians of the area, and the Nauo people also hold a deep connection to this coast. Matthew Flinders named the bay in 1802 after a parish in Lincolnshire, England; for a time it was called Harvey's Bay, but the name Tumby Bay returned when the town was proclaimed in 1900. Settlers arrived from the 1840s and a jetty was built in 1874. Farming, fishing and tourism support the town today, which is loved for its white sandy beaches and as a gateway to the offshore islands of the Sir Joseph Banks Group.
Less advantaged than the national average
Tumby Bay is more socio-economically advantaged than about 27% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 945, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Tumby Bay at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 1,781
- Median age
- 57
- Median weekly household income
- $1,058
- SEIFA score
- 945
- Coordinates
- -34.4005, 136.0706
Tumby Bay demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Tumby Bay using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is seniors (65+) at 39%, 22% of homes are rented, and 7% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 254 | 14% |
| Youth (15–24) | 119 | 7% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 281 | 16% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 443 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 689 | 39% |
Share of the 1,786 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 406 | 51% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 178 | 22% |
| Rented | 176 | 22% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 675 | 84% |
| Townhouses & semis | 58 | 7% |
| Flats & apartments | 49 | 6% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 804 occupied private dwellings in Tumby Bay.
- Median weekly rent
- $220
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,200
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,463
- Median weekly personal income
- $624
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 111 (7%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 20 (1%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 31 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 524 (35%)
- Labour-force participation
- 47.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.8%
- Employed full-time
- 355
- Employed part-time
- 304
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Common questions about Tumby Bay
Where is Tumby Bay?
Tumby Bay is a suburb of South Australia, Australia.
What is the population of Tumby Bay?
At the 2021 Census, Tumby Bay had a population of about 1,781.
Is Tumby Bay an advantaged area?
Tumby Bay has an ABS SEIFA score of 945, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 27 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 27% of Australian suburbs.
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